Growth Potential for Africa Hotels – PwC

Africa’s hotel sector has the potential for further growth over the next five years, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report.

PwC’s eighth edition of the Hotels outlook: 2018-2022, states an increase in the number of foreign and domestic travellers, as well as an expansion in a number of hotel chains on the continent reinforce the hotel sector’s untapped potential for business growth.

The report includes information about hotel accommodation in South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Kenya and Tanzania. It projects hotel room revenue for the five markets as a group will increase at a 7.4 percent compound annual rate to ZAR50.5 billion (USD3.76 billion) in 2022 from ZAR35.2 billion (USD2.62 billion) in 2017.

In South African specifically, hotel room revenue is expected to expand to ZAR21.8 billion (USD1.62 billion) in 2022, up 5.6 percent, compounded annually, from R16.6 billion (USD1.24 billion) in 2017.

The growth in hotel rooms in South Africa, remains similar to that forecast in PwC’s 2017 Hotels Outlook with an additional 2,900 rooms to be added over the next five years. The report also forecasts occupancy rates to continue to grow over the forecast period to reach 62.5 percent in 2022.

International visitor numbers to South Africa continued to grow with a 2.4 percent increase overall.

After jumping 38 percent in 2016, visitors from China to South Africa fell 17 percent in 2017. Travellers from India rose a modest 2.7 percent in 2017, well below the 21.7 percent increase recorded in 2016.

Of non-African countries, the UK is still the largest source of visitors to South Africa at 447,901 in 2017, contributing to the overall growth of 7.2 percent in visitors from non-African countries in 2017.

Of African visitors, the largest number came from Zimbabwe at two million, followed by Lesotho at 1.8 million and Mozambique at 1.3 million.

The outlook for this year remains positive albeit at lower percentages than experienced in 2016. The report projects that the number of foreign visitors and domestic tourism will increase by 5.3 percent this year.

The total number of travellers in South Africa is expected to reach 19.5 million by 2022, a four percent compound annual increase from 16 million in 2017. South Africa is projected to be the slowest growing market with a 5.6 percent compound annual increase in room revenue.

Nigeria, meanwhile, is expected to be the fastest-growing country over the next five years. A number of new hotels are scheduled to be opened during this time. Continued improvement in the domestic economy will also lead to faster growth in guest nights.

Kenya, Tanzania and Mauritius should be the next fastest growing, with compound annual increases of 9.6 percent, 9.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.